


Zero

by jessie_cristo



Series: Fic Challenges [10]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alien Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Frottage, Interspecies Sex, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Minor Violence, Post-Apocalypse, Romance, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-24 10:26:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16638173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessie_cristo/pseuds/jessie_cristo
Summary: Humans are a dying breed and the last in North America now live in Mega-City; a massive, fortress-like city made of metal and stone, surrounded by outpost towns that protect its borders.Jared is an inventor recruited by the Matriarchy to create a stronger and better weapon of war. Commander Jensen Ackles is his military advisor.With a cyborg dog, a love-struck sentient tank, and a highly advanced A.I. that considers itself a matchmaker on the side, what could go wrong?





	Zero

**Author's Note:**

> This is only my 2nd entry for the SPN Reversebang and like the first fic, I had a lot of fun writing this. It was a bit out of the norm for me, so I really hope y'all like it.
> 
> Big thanks to my artist, Phoenix1966. Thank you for the beautiful images! Please everyone, go to her [ART POST](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16606856) here on AO3 and let her know how amazing she is!
> 
> Finally, HUGE thanks to my dedicated Betas and Inspiration Makers:  
> [CincityMojo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyncitymojo/pseuds/cyncitymojo), [J2_Girlz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/J2_Girlz/pseuds/J2_Girlz) & [Jerzcaligrl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jerzcaligrl/pseuds/Jerzcaligrl).  
> Thank you ladies for all the love, support and for the truckloads of patience for whenever I'd wander off one day, then run back in the next demanding we get back to work (lol). Just know, it's my muse that makes me do that... :P

Jared stared out the window as the air-limo he was riding in pulled up in front of Matriarchal Headquarters. The tall, imposing building stood out among the predominantly gray or white buildings that surrounded it. A solid black column made completely out of vibranium, the world’s strongest and lightest metal, floating in mid-air. Its seemingly seamless surface marred only by the single hangar-like opening and platform jutting out from the middle of the bottom half of the structure.

The tight, fluttery sensation in his stomach intensified as the limo came to a smooth stop over the platform then landed with a nearly imperceptible thump on the surface. The limo door slid open and a short ramp descended. Two women clad in the bright red uniform of the Matriarchy’s armed forces came to stand at either side of the ramp, arms straight at their sides, shoulders back and faces devoid of expression.

An older woman in the dark red uniform of an officer, complete with the black epaulets on the shoulders of her jacket walked up to the foot of the ramp and nodded curtly at Jared, still seated in the limo with his cyborg dog, Zero, in his arms.

“Mr. Padalecki. The Matriarchy is honored to have you here. I am Lieutenant Junior Shoshanna Stern. Would you follow me, please?”

“Uh, okay. But just call me Jared or I’ll keep thinking my Dad’s here. To me, he’s ‘Mr. Padalecki’.”

The Lieutenant’s lips quirked in amusement. “Seeing as you’re a civilian, you may call me Shanna.” Her eyes dropped to Zero and her smile widened. Noting her interest, Zero’s jaw dropped into a canine smile and he wagged his tail at her.

“So this is Zero. He’s really beautiful.”

Knowing he was being admired, Zero sat up straighter in Jared’s arms and yipped playfully at the woman.

“He’s just a mutt I put together with spare parts,” Jared said, jokingly.

Zero shot Jared a reproachful look, squirmed out of his arms, then turned his back on Jared, giving Shanna his full attention. The officer laughed delightedly at Zero’s antics, then dropped to her knees right there on the sidewalk, and began playing happily with the cybernetic-dog (or cyber-dog if you wanna get specific).

When Jared glanced at the two guards still standing at attention near the ramp, he could see how their eyes glinted with mirth as they followed the antics of Zero and their commanding officer.

Zero’s body was made completely of ultra-vibranium, which was stronger and a lot more versatile than regular vibranium. It was also a lot more expensive.

When Jared had first built Zero, the cyber-dog had been made of cheap, easily obtainable steel, plastic & insulating rubber plus the circuit boards from a variety of gadgets. Zero had been nothing more than a voice-operated robot and Jared was only ten at the time.

Being the little genius that he was, kids his age had a hard time relating to Jared. His shyness didn’t help matters, but anyone who knew Jared knew that Jared was only shy when meeting new people. Once he warmed up to someone, his naturally bubbly, effervescent personality comes right out.

At fifteen, Jared entered Zero into a ‘Young Inventors Contest’ held at the Matriarchy Center for Learning. He didn’t win. But he left the Center with four orders for robot pets, with half-payments from each customer, full pay to be given upon completion and approval of the customers.

They all loved their pets. Using the credits they’d given him, Jared was able to make them aesthetically better pets. They weren’t full-sized like Zero, but they served their purpose. Word got out and Jared got more commissions.

They named his creations ‘Pada Pets’ and his father managed the business side of things until Jared graduated from college and by then they were already well off.

A couple of months after graduation, Jared was drafted into the Army. But not as a soldier. Instead, they put his great brain to use as a lab assistant in the Weapons Division’s Research and Development Department. One day, the testing lab he was stationed at was attacked and Jared was nearly killed when the building fell in around him and his co-workers.

Many were killed instantly, but a few, like Jared were trapped and spent hours in pain until they were rescued. Some of those survivors succumbed to their injuries and Jared himself was in a coma. His entire left arm had been crushed by a steel girder and he’d lost a lot of blood.

When he came out of his coma three weeks later, he woke to find that the doctors had decreed his arm impossible to save and removed it. They then gave him a cybernetic arm to replace it.

The arm was too clumsy and heavy-handed. He had trouble even holding a cup in his hand without crushing it. When he accidentally broke his mother’s arm just by grabbing her when she tripped and nearly fell near him, Jared lost hope of continuing the work he used to do, ever again.

It was his father, Gerald, and Zero that saved him. Or so he likes to claim. Taking all the wealth they’d managed to accumulate, even selling the new house they’d just moved into, he bought Jared a small amount of vibranium. He’d heard from other scientists about how lightweight, yet nearly indestructible it was and he and Donna were willing to do anything to pull their son out of the depression he’d fallen into.

They showed Jared the metal and the decrepit old warehouse in the outskirts of the city. They challenged him to create a better arm for himself and to their delight, the challenge re-awakened Jared’s passion for inventing. After only two weeks of working with the super-light, yet strong metal, Jared was successful.

After another surgery to remove the old arm, fit him with the new one and tie it into the control chip in his brain, Jared and his parents were delighted to find out that the new arm worked much better than his old one.

Then, using another portion of the precious metal, Jared practiced with his new arm by upgrading Zero’s body and giving him a more advanced, adaptable program. 

He then used the last of the metal to make a line of Pada Pets that were vastly better than his old models. Word got out about them and they were all sold inside of a week. This time, because of the value of vibranium, the price of a Pada Pet was significantly higher and Jared even doubted, at first, that anyone would want to buy a one at the rates his father was demanding for them.

They not only bought them, but the frenzy to have a ‘new and improved’ Pada Pet was astonishing to all, except Gerald, who only smiled smugly as he took in payments and orders. They not only recouped what they’d lost buying the vibranium, but surpassed their former wealth by leaps and bounds.

Jared used their newfound wealth and transformed the decrepit old warehouse and its surrounding property into PadaTech Industries - one section for the manufacturing of Pada Pets, the other sections for research and testing. The immense facility even had housing, a general store, a tavern and an entertainment sector for those who worked there. Being so far out of the center of the city, Jared wanted to make sure the people who worked for him, along with their families, had a comfortable and pleasant place to work and live.

And, because of what had happened to him while in the Matriarch Army, Jared also made sure the place had an exemplary security system made up of state-of-the-art surveillance and defensive mechanisms designed by Jared himself, and a dedicated team of security personnel hand-picked from retired, yet still dangerous former military men and women. 

As ‘Pada Pets’ eventually grew to PadaTech, known throughout the entire Mega-City, Jared upgraded Zero’s materials even as he continued experimenting on him, always trying to improve him.

With dogs, cats, and other types of animals thought of as pets extinct in the territories protected by the Matriarchy, Jared’s robotic pets went from being a novelty item to something nearly vital for mankind.

The care and love that owners put into these pets proved to be a vital weapon against the top cause of death in Mega-City. That top cause being suicide.

With his last upgrade, exchanging all metal in Zero, both aesthetic and vital from regular vibranium to ultra-vibranium (or UV as it was dubbed by those who first developed it), it rocketed Zero’s neuro-net farther than anticipated.

The adaptability programming in the learning center of his brain gave him faster cognitive and problem-solving capabilities. It basically made Zero one of the most advanced AI’s in the entire world and it shot Jared to Uber Fame status. At least, that’s what TMZ said, but Jared didn’t care one bit or the other. Even if he was lonely from time to time, his work was his life and it kept him busy.

Also because of the ultra-vibranium, Zero could change colors at will and could make himself feel like a real dog, or turn as hard and as strong as rock - well no, he’s actually stronger and harder than rock.

Jared would be the first to admit that he’d programmed Zero to be a little more independent and with his adaptive ability, Zero often showed that independence in embarrassing yet hilarious ways. He definitely kept Jared on his toes, but the young inventor wouldn’t have him any other way.

The Matriarchy, in their never-ending war with the Serpents, was always looking for some kind of advantage for their forces to use. Too many men and women were being lost in the border towns that formed a complete ring of security around the city. Even with the Matriarchy’s greater technology and the steady flow of voluntary recruits, the natural hyper senses, strength, and speed of the Serpents were always significant advantages for the enemy.

Serpents came in all shapes and sizes, some even to the extreme. They had types that could run, and swim faster than any human or any machine made to this day. The only true advantage the humans had was that the Serpents couldn’t fly, but the Air Guard was pushed to their limits trying to maintain support of the ground troops and the Serpents were getting smarter about battling them.

Their natural weaponry made mincemeat of anything not made of vibranium. With only the government or the uber rich like Jared being able to even see a nugget of regular vibranium, let alone use it, it was rare enough so that the idea of making combat suits for all the troops out of vibranium was dismissed.

There just wasn’t enough vibranium for that.

However, there _was_ enough for a top-secret project headed up by Captain Jensen Ackles and his Panther Division.

And that’s where Jared comes in.

**_Several Weeks Later…_ **

“So let me get this straight,” said Felicia, Jared’s brilliant yet outspoken assistant, with narrowed eyes and thinned lips. A look that was very familiar to Jared. It was the face she made whenever she was presented with something she found inconceivable or untrustworthy, and right now that look was directed right at him. “You’ve been having me and everyone else here working on a top-secret project and didn’t care to tell any of us what it was for? Not even ME?!”

“I wasn’t allowed to tell any of you unless I accomplished it and they approved the testing of it. It’s called ‘top secret’ for a reason, Felz.”

The petite redhead waved her hands dramatically in the air while making choking sounds in her throat. “Don’t give me that bull dookie Jared! This is ME! Your best friend, your no.1 confidante, your left and right hand here! How could you keep it from me?!” she finally got out in one heated jumble of words, her eyes showing hurt and confusion.

“I’m sorry, but my gag order came from the Matrons, themselves. When I met with them, they were _very_ clear about it.”

“Y-you met with _them_?!”

Jared nodded. She sighed, then dropped her hands in defeat. “Fine. I forgive you for not telling me then. Even I wouldn’t disobey a direct order from the Matrons.”

Jared smiled gratefully at her. The weight and stress of having to lie to her all these weeks finally lifting from him.

“So to go over it again. The _Matriarchy_ wants _you_ to replace the AI programming _and_ create a newer, stronger body as well. Basically replacing all that was originally created by a world-renowned scientist, _and_ was specially patented for the military’s most powerful and effective weapon, with the AI you created for house pets and toys, and we’re supposed to believe that said scientist, one _Mr. Osric Chau_ , is totally hunky-dory with it?”

Before Jared could come up with an answer, a rich, whiskey-rough voice came from the entrance to Jared’s immense lab.

“Not only is he ‘hunky-dory’ with it, he’s so excited that he literally dragged me out of bed this morning so that we could get here ASAP to start work on it. You’ll find Oz to be more into discovery and inventions rather than accolades and recognition.”

Jared was suddenly transfixed by bright, beautiful green eyes, adorable freckles, and lush begging-to-be-kissed lips set in a face so beautiful Jared could literally weep about it if he weren’t so conscious over how sappy he’d look. He couldn’t help the soft gasp and tiny whimper, however, and his ever astute assistant picked up on it right away.

“Down, boy,” she whispered, amusement and glee in her tone.

Jared shot Felicia a quelling glance before turning back to the yummy goodness wrapped in a Matriarchy officer’s uniform. He extended one hand and gave his best smile.

“You must be Captain Ackles. I was told you’d be accompanying Dr. Chau on this endeavor.”

“It’s _Commander_ Ackles,” the officer corrected.

Ackles’ eyes flicked down to Jared’s proffered hand then looked back up to his face with a cold expression, totally ignoring his hand. “I’m here to make sure you don’t make a mess of my Icarus and that he comes back just as he is, intellectually speaking. And this is a matter of the survival of our species, Mr. Padalecki. I wouldn’t exactly call it an ‘endeavor’. We’re not here for a picnic.”

“Oookay,” Jared muttered, pulling his hand back and taking a step back.

A loud laugh interrupted their meeting as an Asian man who looked to be in his mid-twenties and fit the ideal image of a science geek in every way imaginable walked over to them. His longish black hair flopped about haphazardly, and he was wearing ratty jeans, sneakers and a white tee-shirt with a picture of a cherry pie on it, with the Pi symbol carved out of the center of the slice.

The man bounded up to them, all smiles and exuberance. “I told you, Jen, I’ll be here to make sure Icky’s personality, in all his shiny splendor, wouldn’t be tampered with. I told you it’s like an upgrade! What Padalecki is gonna do is just give Icky the ability to learn a lot more than he’s capable of right now. Not to mention a kickass new body that will stand up in battle WAY better. It’s all very exciting, you should be happy about this!”

“I’m bursting with excitement, can’t you tell?” Ackles deadpanned, then rolled his eyes and turned to head back to the team that had just finished laying down the last of the big crates they’d brought with them.

“Don’t mind him. He’s just worried about Icky.”

“Icky?”

“Icarus, his Panther tank. I get to call him that ‘cos I basically made him. But Ackles doesn’t allow anyone else to, so fair warning.”

“Um, okay. Thanks for the heads up. What about his title? I could’ve sworn I was told I’d be working with a _Captain_ Ackles at the briefing, or did I hear that wrong?”

“No, you heard right. He, uh, recently got demoted for punching a high-ranking Hawk pilot in the face after he called Icarus a ‘flea-bitten kitty cat’.”

“Are we just gonna stand around, gentlemen, or are we gonna get to work?” Ackles asked from the top of the stairs, where he paused to look back at them. 

Osric nodded, then turned to gape at Jared’s lab. Felicia offered to give him a tour and the two wandered off together.

Ackles had continued on down the stairs and just as he cleared the last step and headed towards the loading bay, a loud thumping could be heard from outside. The sound grew louder as it drew closer and Jared gasped as immense glowing green eyes looked in at him from the darkness of the access tunnel behind it.

Gasping in shock, Jared stumbled back a couple of steps.

Picking up on his fear, Zero darted in front of him and took up a protective stance, all four legs planted firmly, tail straight back, ears flattened and growling threateningly.

“Stand down!” Ackles shouted from down in the loading bay. “It’s just Icarus, my Panther tank.”

The two large eyes swung towards Jensen.

“Icarus! Stop scaring the civilians and get your clanky butt in here!”

Then, as if the dark was pouring in from the tunnel, the recognizable shape of a black Panther tank clomped into the room, each footfall causing a loud thumping noise and the weight of the machine causing all surfaces in the immediate area to vibrate slightly.

The war machine was immense! Jared had forgotten how big they were said to be. He’d never been this close to one in his life and he’d be lying if he said it didn’t give him pause as he stared at it. Reaching down, he patted Zero to not only reassure his pet, but to also gain some reassurance of his own.

The huge machine had by then fully entered the loading bay and came to a standstill in front of Jensen, a slight hissing noise coming from its mouth. 

Jared judged it to be about 15 feet tall while on all fours, and probably double that if it went up on its rear legs.

When it turned slightly to look down at Jensen, Jared could make out a design subtly worked into the hatch where Ackles, the Rider, would enter from. He couldn’t quite make it out but it looked like some kind of animal. Like a goat, or long-horned sheep. After another second or two of thought, he asked Felicia what she thought it was.

He wasn’t surprised that she knew the answer. Trivia geek that she was.

“It’s the old logo for Chevrolet line of automobiles. The Impala.” She said, confidently.

Jensen found it odd that a man would put a car logo on his tank, but he guessed it was probably something just meant to be ornamental.

“My butt is not clanky,” spoke the tank, startling Jared out of his thoughts.

“It is _too_ , and you’re still stomping around like an elephant. Even a deaf person could hear you coming from a mile away. You’re supposed to be a feline, for cripes sake!”

Jared’s shock melted into delighted glee as he watched the two interact.

“You try moving around a ton of metal and let’s see how quiet you can be.” Icarus huffed, before plopping his rear to the floor in an exasperated manner. His rear, when it hit the concrete, making a definite clanking noise.

Ackles raised his eyebrows at his Panther, who only huffed again, his deadly tail lashing agitatedly behind him.

“Uh, excuse me? I can fix that,” called Jared, from the top of the stairs.

The two turned to look at Jared. That’s when Jared noticed in the light coming from the overhead fixtures that Ackles and the Panther tank had the exact same shade of green eyes. And both sets of eyes were fixed firmly and inquiringly on Jared.

**_Three Weeks Later…_ **

“PADALECKI!!”

Jared awoke with a startled squeak, all four limbs flailing as he thrashed then rolled off of the tiny cot he’d dragged into his office and been sleeping on for the past four days.

To his shock and mortification, the always gorgeous and achingly perfect Commander Ackles pushed open his office door and strolled in as if he owned the place, catching Jared standing in the middle of the room stark naked, hands cupped over his groin and a grimace of discomfort on his face.

“Morning, Ackles. Nice to see you again. Um, at 6 AM… in my room, uh, I mean, office. In my office. Don’t you ever knock?”

Jensen paused, then fell back a step to take stock of Jared’s red face and awkward stance, then rolled his eyes. “Relax, Padalecki. Military personnel shower together all the time to conserve water and the power it takes to heat the water. When not on the front, many, including me, sleep in the nude. You have nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Jared breathed a sigh of relief before uncupping his hands from his crotch and moving to retrieve his clothing.

“Then again, there aren’t many fine packages like you walking around.”

Holding his jeans in front of him, Jared turned to gape at Jensen. His face feeling like it was about to burst into flames.

Jensen winked, then walked back out the way he’d come. “Get dressed and meet me in the lab, big boy. We have a problem.”

Looking up, Jared grit his teeth, then turned back to donning his clothes.

“You seem agitated, Jared,” came the soft, gentle voice of Bonnie, Jared’s AI. The supercomputer that controlled and monitored his lab as well as the rest of his property.

“Don’t talk to me right now, Bonnie! I _know_ you opened the door for him ‘cos I distinctly remember locking it before I went to bed last night. I don’t know what you've got hatched up in your screws and bolts but I know you’re up to something where Commander Ackles is concerned. If you weren’t worth millions, I’d unplug you!”

Bonnie (B.O.N.I. which stands for Bio-Organic Networking Interface) laughed at him. “You would never deactivate me, doll. I’m not only expensive, I’m irreplaceable. You know you love me. Besides, you’re too afraid of what your mother would do to you if you did.”

“Bonnie, just _stop_! The guy is a decorated war hero, I’m just a lab rat. There’s no way he’d be interested in me.”

“If I’m not mistaken, the way he looked you over and flirted with you is ample proof he’s more than interested.”

“Bonnie, please! Remember Tahmoh? The last guy you tried to set me up with? Just drop it!”

Jared finished getting dressed then rushed out of his office.

A few seconds later, Bonnie’s voice echoed in the vacant room.

“Must I do _everything_?”

When Jared got to Icarus’ Lab - what they’d all started calling it since they moved the large Panther tank into it - Jared had to pause just inside the large pneumatic doors and stare at the scene before him.

The hangar-style laboratory and connecting workroom were massive. Equipment, tools, and crates were piled everywhere in the main room. Some towering high into the air.

At first, Jared thought that Icarus had short-circuited and was trying to kill his Zero. In a panic, fear for his best friend flooding him, Jared ran for the red Emergency button on the wall near the top of the stairs while shouting for Zero to go into evasive maneuvers and to fall back to him.

In the days before the arrival of Jensen, Osric, and Icarus and the weeks after, Jared had been researching and learning about military strategies and tactics. As he always did, when learning new skills he thought would benefit Zero, Jared had also been _teaching_ Zero these new cognitive skills.

Just as Jared’s hand was about to slap the button, his wrist was caught in a strong grip. Suddenly Jensen was there, pressed up behind him, the soldier’s other strong arm wrapping around Jared’s waist to steady him.

“Wait, no! Zero is fine. Look!” Jensen muttered into Jared’s ear, the man’s smooth, deep voice sending shivers down Jared’s spine.

Jared closed his eyes to relish the warm length of Jensen’s hard body pressed up against him, then shook his head and forced himself to focus on Zero who Jared could now discern wasn’t in danger.

“They’re playing,” Jared said, wonder suffusing his tone.

“They were doing _more_ than playing when I came in to check on Icarus earlier. Aw Hell, there they go again! What the _fuck_ did you do to my tank, Jared?” Despite his words, Jensen’s tone sounded more amused than angry to Jared.

When Jared looked back towards the dog and tank, he gasped softly in shock.

The two had stopped prancing and chasing the other around the massive room and were now rubbing up against each other. If Jared didn’t know any better, he’d swear the two were flirting!

“What in the…” he murmured, even as Jensen released him and began walking down the narrow metal stairs.

Gaping slightly, Jared rushed to follow him.

Just as both men reached the bottom, they froze and together shouted in surprise. “HOLY SHIT!”

Zero was growing! Right before their disbelieving eyes, Jared’s little cyber-pet was gaining in height and size until he was roughly the same size as Icarus.

“OH MY GOD! JARED WHAT’S GOING ON?! IS THAT ZERO?!” came Felicia’s voice at the top of the observation platform, Osric gaping right beside her.

“You guys never said Zero could change his size! Jared, you are a _genius_!” Osric gushed, now running down the stairs to join Jared and Jensen.

“I-I didn’t! I didn’t even know that was possible,” Jared stammered, still in shock.

“It must be the ultra-vibranium!” Osric shouted, excitedly. “You know the popular theory for all who’ve studied it, is that the base metal and the ultra variation came from that alien ship that crashed here over a hundred years ago, right? Who knows what other great properties it has besides being super-light, super-strong _and_ compatible with cybernetic programming?!” 

“Isn’t he amazing?” Icarus crooned, his voice purring as he rubbed eagerly against Zero. “While you were all sleeping, Zero and I practiced the stealth and battle tactics Jared taught Zero. But I was always having to be careful not to crush Zero, so he fixed it so I didn’t have to worry anymore.”

Zero yipped then pranced in place before going back to rubbing against Icarus. His normally moderate barks thundering around the area while his large feet made the concrete flooring tremble.

“Take it easy, Zero. Moderate your volume,” Jared said, automatically, so used to having to correct his over-exuberant pet. “Come here, boy. SLOWLY!” Jared added when Zero began to prance towards Jared and the others.

As he neared them, Zero shrank back to his normal size and he jumped up into Jared’s arms when he reached him.

“Hey buddy, aren’t you a smart fellow? Figuring that out all on your own?”

Jensen turned and walked up to his tank, reaching up to rub the massive war machine’s jaw. “Can you change size too, Ick?”

“I tried, but I think I am made differently.”

Osric joined Jensen at Icarus’ side, also reaching up to rub a hand along the tank’s head. “You are different, but for a reason. Jensen rides you, so it wouldn’t do for you to be changing your size with him inside you. It could be harmful to him.”

“Oh, yes, then it’s okay that I can’t change. Number one protocol is to protect my partner.”

“As it’s _my_ number one protocol to protect you,” Jensen said, affection shining in his eyes. 

“Jensen, heads up!” Osric called to him.

When Jensen turned around he saw that Zero was returning to Icarus, and growing as he drew closer. Jensen scrambled out of the way as Zero swished his tail happily, the resulting air draft sending Jared and the others tumbling back with surprised laughter, the three of them landing in a pile, with Jared on top.

“Ungh! Get your heavy ass off me!” Felicia cried out between laughs.

Jared rolled off, face red and giggling like a little boy. He came to rest at Jensen’s feet, the older man smiling down at him. Jensen held out one hand to help him up, a mischievous smile curving his full lips.

“Excuse me, little Miss. Have you seen a young _man_ around here by the name of Jared?”

“S-screw you!” Jared gurgled, as Jensen hauled him to his feet with one strong pull.

Using his momentum, Jensen pulled Jared in until the taller man’s body was flush against his. “Any time, darlin’. Just say the word.” He then winked and let Jared go.

Flushing, biting back a smile, Jared turned his attention back to the two cyborgs, smile dropping away as he frowned in confusion.

“What, wait… are they… oh my god!”

Jensen whipped around, jaw dropping as he caught sight of Icarus and Zero.

The two had moved toward the large hangar doors where the overhead lights hadn’t been turned on so it was dark and dim in that corner of the room. They could still be seen, however, and the humans all fell into a silent shock as they watched Zero mounting Icarus.

“They don’t even have the parts to do that!” Osric exclaimed.

“Oh my!” Felicia giggled. “Parts or not, they’re trying to mate!”

“Okay, Padalecki…” Jensen gritted out. All signs of his earlier playful behavior gone. “I was fine with your _pet_ growing in size, acting like a real dog and all the other stuff, but _MY_ Icarus is a badass weapon of war. No _way_ is he a bottom!”

“Is _THAT_ all that’s bothering you about this development?!”

“I don’t know what you did to him but I’m putting a stop to it. If the rest of my platoon gets wind of this, they’ll never let me live it down!”

Jensen began stomping toward the two machines who were now straining against each other in an obvious rutting motion. Zero saw Jensen coming and turned his head to the human. His eyes flashed, razor-sharp fangs glinting as he snarled and growled thunderously at the man. His forelimbs pulling Icarus possessively towards him, nearly covering the Panther tank with his entire body.

Jensen instantly whipped back around and walked back to the others, posture tense, face devoid of expression. “Never mind. I’ll just deal with it later.”

“This is amazing!” Osric gushed. “They’ve not only adapted perfectly to the new bodies Jared designed for them, but they’re also showing more characteristics of the animals they were based on. I need to record this and Icarus’ data output!” Osric gasped, turning to run back up the stairs.

“Oh yes! I need to do the same for Zero!” Felicia exclaimed, following Osric up the stairs.

Jared and Jensen stood side-by-side just staring in shock at their cybernetic friends.

“Are they glowing?” Jensen asked.

“Yes, their UV metal is reacting to each other.”

“Maybe Osric is right. This is not normal and maybe that alien metal could be bad for them.”

“It’s actually advancing their learning and reasoning capabilities. They’re learning to feel, and it’s obvious that the first strong feelings they have is a sexual attraction to each other! I think that’s amazing!”

“I love sex as much as the next guy, but I wouldn’t exactly call this ‘amazing’.”

“No, don’t you see? The primary survival instincts of _any_ animal, including humans, is a need for safety, sustenance, and sex in order to procreate and populate.”

“So they’re _acting_ like the animals they were created to emulate, but even in the animal world, cats and dogs don’t have intercourse. They are entirely different species.”

“That’s not entirely true. There are many documented cases in our history files of interspecies relations. Especially in isolated environments.”

“Ugh! Are you talking about humans fucking livestock?!”

Jared bent over laughing. “No! I’m talking about bears and wolves, pigs and goats and yes, in some cases, dogs and cats. Of course, there were never any offspring, but there have been documented cases of penetrative sex between those pairings and many others.”

“Hey guys, something’s happening!” Osric called from the platform above. The smaller man, with Felicia at his side, was leaning way over the bank of consoles, pointing wildly at the coupling cyborgs.

Jared’s eyes widened as he stared in astonishment.

Zero and Icarus were moving in tandem, Zero pressing down, Icarus pushing up, the rhythm of their movements almost hypnotic. What had grabbed Osric and Felicia’s attention and left Jared and Jensen in gape-mouthed fascination was that both cyborgs had begun to glow even brighter! So bright, it was getting harder for the humans to look directly at them without shielding their eyes with their hands.

Suddenly, Icarus gave a yowling snarl, his body sending out a flare of bright blue light. He then collapsed to the floor, Zero following him down. The canine cyborg gave another couple of ruts against Icarus’ lax body before letting loose a thundering howl amidst an even brighter flash of red that seemed to emanate from his own body, then sink into Icarus, yowled again, whole body shuddering then settling.

All four humans in the room stared in shock at the pair. Then Felicia and Osric began shouting and talking a mile a minute, the both of them scrambling to take readings and pull the footage from the security cameras in the area.

“Wait, did they… did they just…” Jensen stammered.

“Have mind-blowing orgasms? Yep,” Jared answered, voice cracked and panting slightly.

Jensen turned his head to look at Jared, noting the red flush of his cheeks and ears, and the way he was trying to subtly shift from side to side. As if trying to adjust himself without drawing notice. Jensen had been noticing a lot of things about Dr. Jared Padalecki since his first day here. 

Jared was aroused, and that was something Jensen couldn't ignore even if he wanted to.

Sliding behind the taller man, Jensen buried his face in Jared’s shoulder length, silky soft hair and inhaled. In the weeks since Jensen, Icarus, and Osric had been Jared’s guests and co-workers, Jensen had given plenty of hints that he’d love to give the geek Adonis a personal tour of his quarters. Namely, an up close introduction to his bed.

But, either Jared was exceptionally dense or even if he could read the signals Jensen had been throwing him, he probably didn’t know how to respond to them. Which only strengthened Jensen’s theory that, despite the improbability of it, Jared Padalecki; world-renowned genius, multi-billionaire and philanthropist, was in actuality an honest-to-God virgin. That thought made Jensen very happy. If you asked his mother, she’d tell you that Jensen had never been good at sharing his toys. At that very moment, Jensen wanted to play with his newest shiny toy and it looked like a more direct approach was needed. Jensen saw Jared’s unusual reaction to their cyber-pets’ little rendition of techie-porn and decided that now was a great time to make his move.

Jensen cupped Jared’s elbows with his hands as he nuzzled through his hair until his lips were pressed to the flushed, slightly damp soft skin at the back of Jared’s long, lovely neck.

“Did that turn you on, sweetheart?” he murmured. Full lips curving when the taller man leaned slightly back into Jensen; his breathing and heart rate noticeably picking up. “Wanna go do a little rubbing of our own?”

Jared snorted at the cheesy line but grinned as he nodded, his pants getting tighter as he twitched and grew in his shorts. “Yes,” he said, to be sure he was clear.

Transferring his hands to Jared’s narrow hips, Jensen spun him in place and ran his hands up the taller man’s chest until he was cupping Jared’s jaw and guiding him in for a kiss.

Their lips came together in a rush. Right from the start, it was messy. When their tongues got involved it just got messier… hotter. Jared wasn’t aware he was moaning freely into Jensen’s mouth. But the older man heard and every sound and gasp of air from Jared was going straight through him, right down to his already straining member.

Jared gasped then threw his head back when Jensen ran his large, strong hands down Jared’s back, over his ass and then the backs of his thighs. Jensen gripped them firmly and lifted, Jared wrapping his arms around Jensen’s neck even as his legs instinctively lifted and wrapped Jensen’s waist. In this position, their erections were pressed firmly together. Jared knew he was big and from what he could feel through his pants, Jensen seemed to be about the same length, maybe just a little wider. Jared couldn’t wait to see it bare so he could gauge it better.

From the platform above came cheers and catcalls.

“ _FINALLY_ , guys! Thought I was gonna turn straight breathing in all the pheromones you two have been putting out for weeks!” Felicia teased.

“Aw, c’mon Jay!” Osric added with a wheedling tone. “If you were finally gonna give it up, why didn’t you pick me? Didn’t I tell you how flexible and well versed I am in the Tantric Arts?”

Jensen shot them the bird as he carried Jared in the general direction of the lower entrance to the large lab. Before they could reach it, Jared squirmed in his arms, then pointed at the drab gray door near the exit. 

“In there,” he gasped out before dropping his head back down to rain kisses up the side of Jensen’s neck until he reached the older man’s ear.

Jensen’s knees nearly gave out when Jared sucked the lobe of his ear into his hot mouth and then nipped it sharply with strong teeth.

“ _Fuck_ , baby boy. We’re gonna end up doing it right here on the floor if you don’t quit that.”

Jared chuckled, then reached out to open the storeroom door for them.

“You sure you wanna do this in here?”

Jared nodded as he continued kissing along Jensen’s jaw. “Uh huh… been dreaming about it for weeks. Been dying for you to make your move.”

“And here I’ve been waiting on you.” Jensen grinned up at the tall man he was effortlessly carrying.

“No more waiting,” Jared growled, pulling the door closed behind them.

Back up on the platform, Felicia walked back behind her console, grinning.

Osric paused when he spotted movement from the cyborgs. “Looks like they’re starting up again.”

Glancing at Zero and Icarus, Felicia smiled then sighed, regretfully.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said. “It’s just with all this sex going on I just realized it’s been weeks since I’ve had a really good lay. We’ve been so busy working on Icarus plus Jared’s regimen of programming military strategies for Zero. It all just kept me so _busy_.”

Grinning and wiggling his eyebrows comically at Felicia as he left his station and swaggered over to hers, Oz replied, “Well, I’d be more than happy to help alleviate that dry spell. What do ya say we go find a storeroom of our own?”

“I thought you were gay?” Felicia smirked up at him, even as she continued typing out her notes.

“Bi, actually. I’m attracted to intelligence and you look pretty smart to me.”

Felicia laughed delightedly at Osric. “I seriously love getting hit on by geeks, but sorry honey… Unless you’ve got big tits and a punani under your lab coat, I’m not interested. I’m all the way gay.”

Osric shrugged, then returned to his station. “Well, can’t blame a guy for trying, right?”

“Tell you what. Next time we get some shore leave I’ll treat you to a night at _Roxanne’s_. The coolest gay bar this side of the quadrant.”

“Deal.”

Then as the two returned to their stations, getting ready to record more data from the rutting cyborgs below, Osric began to sing. Felicia laughed, then joined in.

_Rox-anne… why you gotta put on the red light? ROOOX-anne…!_

Down in the lower level, Zero paused his movements to stare up at Felicia and Osric as their singing got louder. The two were having a great time singing as obnoxiously as they could while mangling the lyrics to the song.

**CLANNNNGGGG!**

Felicia and Osric choked off their singing and laughter with twin gasps of shock. Embedded in the concrete wall quite close to where they were standing was a giant, 48” crescent wrench. A tool used by the mechanical arms in the ceiling of the lab; the wrench being too heavy and cumbersome for people to use by hand. A rumbling snarl rose up from the hangar below; a clear warning from Icarus.

“Oookay… yeah. Recording devices are set, what-say we give them some privacy?” asked Felicia, face frozen with nervous fear.

Rolling his eyes, Osric went to the railing and shook a fist down at the panther tank. “What have I told you about throwing stuff, Icky? You could hurt someone!”

“Too noisy. Distracting my Zero,” the cat tank grumbled.

“Then you politely ask us to leave, you don’t just throw stuff!”

“Leave. Now.”

“He calls _that_ ‘polite’?” muttered Felicia, walking up to stand beside Osric, having obviously gotten past her fear.

Just then, the storeroom door opened. Standing in the doorway, completely naked with a nearly naked Jared in his arms, long legs wrapped around his waist, Jensen growled up at the two on the platform.

“If you two don’t quit all your noise and get the hell out, I won’t bother to throw stuff at you. I’ll just shoot you both!”

Jared threw his head back and laughed, distracting Jensen with clear access to the long, tempting length of his neck. Jensen’s head dipped so that he could kiss and nibble at the soft skin even as he fumbled with the door, barely managing to close it again.

Looking at each other with twin expressions of mirth, Osric and Felicia scampered out of the lab, giggling like school children.

  


“Okay, kiddo, what’s up with you?”

Jared flopped over onto his stomach and buried his face in his pillow, trying to ignore the disembodied voice of Bonnie. He could tell just from the tone of her synthetic voice that she was in her ‘meddling’ mode, and Jared was _so_ not in the mood for that.

“G’way, Bonnie!” he shouted into his pillow.

“Ha! Fat chance of that! Sherrie will be here for the Mother Festival in three days and if she finds out I’ve let her precious boy mope around with a broken heart for all this time, she’ll have _my_ motherboard melted down for scrap.”

“I’m not moping! And broken _heart_?! I’d have to be in love first and I’m _not_ in love! I’m not.”

“Yeah, right.”

“I’m NOT!”

“Just keep repeating it and maybe one day you’ll convince me just as you’re trying to convince yourself right now.”

“That’s _IT_!” Jared shouted, jumping up from his bed and marching towards the lit communication (comm) panel near the main door to his private rooms..

“Wait, Jared, what are you going to do?!” Bonnie asked, voice simulator evincing the perfect amount of human suspicion and alarm.

“Rescinding your access to my quarters,” Jared muttered between gritted teeth as he starts typing the commands into the touchscreen panel set into the wall.

It acted as the command center for all the technological perks he’d created then installed into his rooms, himself, with some help from workers he’d contracted from another company for the heavier or more complicated wiring and heavy lifting.

There were smaller panels in every room of his quarters, including the bathing room, except that one didn’t have video capabilities. He hadn’t trusted Bonnie not to pop in there now and then, while he was using it, just to make him jump.

Many would disagree with him, saying it’s impossible, but Jared had been long convinced that somehow, Bonnie had acquired a dry sense of humor and a sardonic wit. 

When questioned why she’d evolved in a way that constantly aggravated him with her high-handed interfering into all aspects of his life, she’d simply said that she was made to put his health and happiness as her primary concern in all that she did, so therefore his mental health was also her concern. So, if he needed to be praised, encouraged, prodded forward, kicked in the shin, or dragged back down to earth, then that’s what she would do.

Right in this moment, Jared wished she didn’t ‘care’ so much. He finished typing in the directives then paused as he was about to tap the ‘ENTER’ key. “Any last words?” he asked, sardonically.

“Oh, _c’mon_! I rag on you a little bit and you have a hissy fit? You know I’m just trying to help. You’ve had the hots for that man since he first walked in the door. Now that you’ve finally got him, several times in all sorts of places, mind you, you’re acting even more of a wet blanket than before you _finally_ hooked up with him. Judging by your vital readouts, you enjoyed being with him. But the minute you leave him and you’re alone, you get all squinchy-faced again.”

“Squinchy-faced? Really? And why is it whenever I do something you don’t like you revert to the ancestral slang my mother likes to use? I know you think it’ll make me change my mind about following your advice, but it won’t work. I’ve managed to defy my mother enough times to be a pro, so give it a rest.”

“Fine. But tell me something.”

“What?”

“You and Jensen have been knocking boots practically everywhere on this compound. Everywhere but your individual quarters. Do you both have an aversion to your own beds or is there something else going on?”

Jared bit his lip, worrying it between his teeth until it was raw and red.

“I can’t see you but I know you’re biting your lip, Jared. Stop that and talk to me. Please!”

Tapping the touchscreen to cancel the directives he’d tapped out, Jared turned from the panel in defeat. He then stumbled back to his bed, dropping onto it even as he choked back a sob. However, he couldn’t keep the tears welling in his bright hazel eyes from falling.

“He doesn’t want me for anything more than a convenient way to pass the time.”

“Did he say that?”

“Well, no. But it’s obvious. He only seeks me out when he wants sex, he doesn’t ask me out or over to his place. He never shares anything personal about himself.”

“Have you done any of these things yourself?”

“Me? I can still barely think straight when I’m around him! When we’re not fucking we’re arguing over the programming for Icky or how Zero is constantly following them around. He treats Zero like he’s a dumb mutt when you and I both know how amazing Zero is compared to other AI’s. I worked long and hard on Zero and he treats him like I just put him together with spare parts and spit. It’s aggravating!”

“Zero can handle anything that man throws at him. As for you, I think it’s time you start telling him what _you_ want, Jared.”

“I don’t want anything from him! I’ve already decided that this thing between us was all a big mistake. I mean, really… what do we really have in common? Nothing.” Jared’s chest ached with just saying aloud what he’d been thinking5. 

Bonnie was silent for a good thirty seconds. When she finally spoke again, her tone had a definitive edge to it.

“Jared Tristan Padalecki! Are you saying you want to give up? This is _not_ the boy your mother told me about. The boy who fought back and never gave in when it came to bullies who were jealous or ignorant about your intelligence, your family’s wealth, or because of your sexuality. You can delude yourself about your true feelings for Jensen, but you’re not fooling anyone else. Even Zero knows how much he means to you and acts on it.”

“What do you mean he acts on it?”

“Have you ever seen Zero bond with anyone other than your family and Felicia as he’s done with Jensen?”

“I thought it was just because of Jensen being Icarus’ partner and Zero liking Icarus so much.”

“That’s part of it, but mostly it’s because of you, and...” Bonnie cut herself off.

Jared sat up on the edge of his bed and stared at the dark red plush carpet beneath his feet. “I don’t know what to do, Bonnie. I just wish I knew if Jensen felt the same way or even if he’d like something more with me,” he said, morosely.

“Jared, something’s going on at guard station 4, in the northwest quadrant.”

“Report,” Jared commanded, body tensing.

Just then, a loud siren began blaring out in the hall even as all of the comm panels in Jared’s quarters began flashing yellow while emitting strident wails of their own.

Jumping to his feet, Jared rushed to his closet to pull out and drag on his lightweight body armor and stomp into his boots.

“That’s a code yellow! Serpent attack! What’s going on? Report!”

Just then, Bonnie’s commanding, business-like voice boomed out from all the panels and out in the hall, echoing around Jared’s room.

“PERIMETER BREACH. ALL SECURITY PERSONNEL REPORT TO STATIONS. PERIMETER BREACH IN SECTOR 4.”

While her message repeated in the halls, Bonnie began reporting the details to Jared from his main panel while he unlocked his weapons locker and began arming himself.

“Guard patrols outside the walls aren’t reporting in and station 4 has been taken out Jared. Serpents are inside the compound.”

“Link to my wrist comm, Bonnie. I need to get to command central. Fill me in on what we’re dealing with as I go,” Jared directed as he finished strapping his hunting blade to the holder on his hip and his handgun and holster to his right thigh. Grabbing up his rifle, Jared opened his door and rushed out into the chaos in the halls.

“SECURITY DETAIL, REPORT TO YOUR STATIONS. EVACUATION TEAMS. GET ALL NON-COMBATANTS TO THE EMERGENCY SHELTER.” Bonnie’s calm, assertive voice on the compound’s loudspeakers rang out even as she continued reporting details to Jared on his wrist comm.

“What are we dealing with Bonnie and have you alerted the Matriarchy?”

“I tried, but they must’ve taken out the way station before heading here. My signal can’t get through. I’m attempting to hack into a military satellite to send a message that way.”

“Military, Bonnie! Jensen can have Icarus send out an alarm! All Panther tanks are connected on a dedicated channel through the satellites. It’s how they coordinate when in battle together.”

“Good idea, I’m relaying the info to Zero. If he’s with Icarus, which he usually is since they started mating, he’ll pass it on to Icarus.”

Jared could’ve told Zero to do it, too, since his wrist comm was also linked to Zero, but he was glad Bonnie had taken the initiative to do it herself.

Just then, Jensen came careening around the corner at the far end of the hall. Like Jared, he was fully dressed and armed. “JARED!” he shouted when spying the tall scientist, Jensen’s face wreathed in worry.

“JENSEN!” Jared cried out in relief.

To his pleased, yet shocked surprise, Jensen pulled Jared into his arms and squeezed him tightly. “Oh God, baby! When the alarms went off, I didn’t know where you were. I went to your office and you weren’t there. Then Bonnie told me from one of the panels that you were headed to Command. She then told me to grab one of these and guided me to you,” he finished while holding up one arm to show that he was wearing Jared’s backup wrist-comm.

“Good going, Bonn-oompf!” Jared was cut off when Jensen began kissing him, almost frantically.

“I don’t know if you’ll want anything more to do with me, other than sex that is, but fuck it, I love you Jared. I think I’ve loved you for a long time now, but it only just hit me when I thought there was a chance I could lose you.”

With a joyful laugh, Jared kissed him back, his heart singing inside of him.

Jensen pulled back to grip the sides of Jared’s head. Soulful, beautiful green eyes stared deep into Jared’s sparkling5, tear-filled hazels. “You and I both know that I’m as dumb as a bag of rocks when compared to your genius, and all I have to my name is my loft in the city, my motorcycle, and a military salary of about sixty thousand credits a year. I don’t have much, but it’s yours, _I’m_ yours if you’ll have me.”

Choked up with tears, Jared gave up on trying to stammer out a response and just threw his arms around Jensen’s neck and began kissing him again.

“Is that a ‘yes’?” Jensen asked between kisses.

“YES!” Jared laughed, then went back to kissing the daylights out of his boyfriend. _-Boyfriend!-_ he thought, excitedly.

After a couple of seconds of the two kissing each other, Bonnie spoke. “Uh, guys? Hate to interrupt, but we’ve got a bit of a situation here.”

Jared and Jensen don’t seem to hear her. Their kisses turn heated as their hands begin running over each other’s bodies. Jared moaning when Jensen grabbed his ass with both hands and squeezed the firm globes even as he pressed his hips closer, until their erections were rubbing together. The friction causing both men to moan with pure lust.

“GUYS! SECURITY PROBLEM! SERPENTS IN THE COMPOUND, REMEMBER?!”

Jared and Jensen finally pull apart, both gasping heavily.

“Shit, fuck!” Jensen growls. “Goddamn Serpents always fucking things up. C’mon. I’ll get you to the shelter, first, then I’ll meet up with Icarus and clean house.”

“I’m not going to the shelter, I was heading to the command center.”

“But the command center isn’t as fortified as the shelter. I want you in the shelter, Jared.”

Sighing in frustration, Jared took off hurrying down the hall, Jensen having to scramble to keep up with his long strides. “This is _my_ home, Jensen. I’m not going to go and hide in the shelter. Just because we’re now boyfriends doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do.”

“Boyfriends? Fuck _that_! We’re getting married, and as your future husband I most definitely have a say in your safety, Jared!”

Jared stumbled then continued on, throwing a glare over his shoulder. “I can’t believe you just proposed to me when we’re in the middle of something here! I don’t expect flowers or romantic music but a ring would’ve been nice!”

“Well, I’m sorry _princess_ , but it’s not like this is how I planned to ask you. And there _is_ a ring. I just forgot it back in my quarters.”

Jared stumbled again, this time coming to a stop and turning back to Jensen. Eyes welling with emotion he croaked out, “You got me a ring?”

Smirking, Jensen pulled Jared to him until they were pressed up against each other once again. “Of course I did, baby. _Now_ will you let me take you to the shelter?”

Swooping down to plant a passionate kiss on his fiancee, Jared then laughed happily against Jensen’s plush, warm lips. “No, but I’ll marry you.”

He then turned and began hurrying off again.

“Of all the men I could’ve fallen for, Bonnie, _why_ did it have to be the most aggravatingly stubborn man in all of Mega-City?!” Jensen muttered as he stomped off after Jared.

On the screen of a maintenance panel further down the now empty hall, a pair of rolling eyes appeared.

In the darkened command center, seated at the head of the immense steel and glass conference table in the center of the lower level, Jared watched with tension all through his body as Jensen, riding inside of Icarus, Zero in his large form, and the remaining uninjured security staff took on the Anaconda leader and its full squad of vipers in the large open courtyard outside the North entrance to the labs.

The team had just taken down the last of the vipers that had been protecting the Anaconda. Even with its massive strength and size the leader didn’t have the advantages that vipers did, with their speed and ability to spit, with deadly accuracy and speed, poison-packed fangs from their mouths, new fangs dropping into place in less than a second.

The battle had been decidedly one-sided, with the Serpents being on the losing side almost from the moment Icarus and Zero had joined the fight. The humans, even with their padded body armor, guns, and blades, were being overrun until that point.

Jensen’s savvy control kept Icarus bounding from one side of the area to the other, helping those most in need, with Zero always at his side. The poison barbs had no effect on them, and between the two animal cyborgs’ teeth and claws, the serpents fell fast. Zero was obviously faster, even if Icarus was more agile than any other tanks. His new UV body was showing just _how_ much more agile he was .

Now, onscreen, as if realizing his viper guards weren't going to be able to hold back Zero or Icarus, the Anaconda joined the fight. It dove for Icarus, judging him to be the more dangerous of the two. Its large fangs latching onto Icarus’ face, one of the fangs punching in through the wide, 3-foot high window for Jensen’s cab. Its massive coils instantly wrapped around the cyborg cat, completely engulfing the tank. The muscular coils began squeezing. With the linked up audio, Jared could clearly hear Jensen’s scream when one of the fangs pierced his leg and the cab began to press in on him. Jared grabbed the arms of his chair, knuckles going white as he held on tightly.

Jared then watched with pride and awe as Zero gave a terrifying snarl and began furiously attacking the body of the large snake, ripping huge chunks of flesh from it. Meanwhile, the humans managed to take out the last of the vipers then ran to try and help Zero to rescue Icarus before he and Jensen could be completely crushed.

Icarus was yowling and struggling desperately, even as Jensen was shouting commands.

Then Zero found the Serpent’s head nearly hidden by its coils and he worked his jaws in to latch onto the back of the Serpent’s head. The Anaconda’s fang ripped back out of Jensen’s leg when it suddenly pulled back and retracted its fangs and began yelling its submission.

Still, it took Jensen yelling for Zero to hold position, before Zero stopped trying to gnaw past the coils to get a better grip on the snake’s head. He continued growling even as he held the snake’s head in his massive, sharp-toothed jaws.

The yellow, slitted eyes of the Anaconda leader blinked slowly as it hissed out its surrender. “Sssubmit. Sssurrender. ssDon’t killsss.”

The video feed then darkened and cut off even as the lights in the room brightened and the ten other people seated at the table, other than Jared and Jensen, could now be easily seen again. Jared turned to Jensen seated in the chair next to him when the older man took his hand and squeezed it.

“I hate watching that part,” Jared muttered.

“Hopefully, this will be the last time you ever have to watch it.”

“If our plan succeeds, I’ll probably have to watch this and many others like it to do my job properly. I’ll just have to deal.”

They turned their chairs to face the table when a matronly old woman seated at the other end of the table cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. Grand Matron Meryl Streep and eight other distinguished-looking women were all smiling at the couple.

To Jensen’s left were Lieutenants Christian Kane and Chad Murray, Jensen’s second and third in command of the Cat Guard. The two were smiling knowingly at the couple, both men handsome in their full dress uniforms.

Grand Matron Meryl smiled when she saw their clasped hands, then turned her attention fully to Jensen. “Were there any casualties?” she asked.

“No, Grand Matron. Some injuries and a couple were poisoned, but Jared’s medic teams are well trained and often at risk to themselves, were able to get to each that were downed in time to administer antivenin.”

Another Matron Jared recognized as Matron Loretta Devine leaned forward. “What happened to the perimeter patrol?”

“Garter snakes, Matron. Masses of them overwhelmed each patrol team and incapacitated them by swarming then binding them up with their own bodies. After the battle in the compound, Zero helped me, riding Icarus, and two teams we took with us to track down each patrol unit and free them. The garters snakes took off into the brush after seeing the cyborgs coming towards them.”

“This is sounding and looking more and more like a planned attack rather than just a random incursion,” Christian said, thoughtfully.

“We believe it _was_ planned,” the Grand Matron replied. “We’ve long been plagued with the smaller serpents gaining entry into our facilities and acting as spies. We have teams sweep our most sensitive areas on a regular basis, but they still get in now and again. We believe one of them learned about Dr. Padalecki’s experiment with the Panther tank, Icarus, and that they sent that Anaconda squad to either take him as a prisoner or to kill him.”

“I was wondering why an entire Serpent squad would bother attacking my facility. I no longer have ties to the military or the government since I was honorably discharged five years ago, due to my injury,” Jared said, holding up his cybernetic arm. “To the general public, I’m only a toymaker.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, boy,” Matron Shirley MacLaine said, seated directly to the left of the Grand Matron. Her whiskey-rough voice brooking no argument. “Your _’toys’_ have done our citizens a world of good. Plus, with your reputation for your genius, you would’ve become a target for the Serpents eventually. They would’ve tried to acquire you and make you work for them.”

Jensen stiffened in his chair, then leaned forward to look at the old woman with a hard stare. “Are you telling me that the Matriarchy _knew_ that Jared was a potential target and didn’t tell him or _me_ about it?!”

“You watch your tone, boy, or are you looking for _another_ demotion? ‘Cause I have no problem busting you all the way back down to Private,” Matron Shirley growled.

“Jensen,” Jared hissed, laying a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure they had a reason for not telling me.”

“We did,” Matron Shirley said while still frowning at Jensen. “ _We_ decided that telling Jared would only alarm him and we weren’t sure if the Serpents would go for him, yet. We didn’t want him to have to live with that worry before we could even tell if he _should_ be worried or not. We considered sending him a protection detail to live in-house, _here_ with him, but from all our intel it didn’t seem like Jared was on their radar at all. So we thought said detail could prove to pull their attention to him, prematurely.”

“In simpler terms…” The Grand Matron cut in. “We were trying to protect him while also making contingency plans in case our open protection was needed. How do you think backup troops got here so fast the day of the attack? We had two agents living in the closest town monitoring the facility. The moment the way station went down, one went overland on an air-cycle while his partner stayed behind to coordinate the backup headed this way. The other agent joined your security detail and helped to take down the vipers.”

The Grand Matron then pressed a button on her shiny gold wrist-comm and the door to the command center was opened by a guard, letting in two uniformed soldiers Jared had never seen before. They came to a stop at the side of the Grand Matron, both men standing at full attention.

“This is Lieutenant Commander Tom Welling,” Grand Matron Meryl said, indicating the taller of the two. He was a handsome man with thick, black hair and deep blue eyes.

She then held her hand out to the other man. “And this is his partner, Lieutenant Mike Rosenbaum.” This man was shaved bald and Jared couldn’t quite make out his eye color, but he had a kind face. In fact, both men were quite handsome, with impressive physiques.

When the bald guy, Rosenbaum, caught Jared looking them over, he smirked smugly, wiggled his eyebrows, then winked.

Biting back a laugh at the blatant flirtation, Jared reached up to cover the smile he was trying to hold back, while also making sure that the UV ring Jensen had bought him was clearly visible on his ring finger.

Jensen growled, then leaned forward to cut off Rosenbaum’s view of Jared. His own right hand clenched on the table in front of them, the UV ring Jared made for him also clearly visible.

Grand Matron Meryl frowned, then turned to look up at Rosenbaum just as Welling kicked the side of Rosenbaum’s boot.

“Lieutenant Rosenbaum,” the Grand Matron said, voice stern.

“Ma’am?”

“Were you just hitting on Commander Ackles’ newly affianced partner?”

Mike’s eyes widened almost comically, then his gaze darted to the rings on Jared and Jensen’s hands.

“If you’re wondering why they have their rings on their right hands instead of their left, I believe it’s because Dr. Padalecki has a cybernetic left arm and he prefers to wear the ring against his own skin and not the fabricated metal. Am I right?”

Jared was touched that the Grand Matron not only correctly guessed why he and Jensen had foregone tradition with how they wore their rings, but that she also seemed to find it appropriate.

“Spot on, ma’am,” he said.

The woman smiled warmly at Jared. “Now that it’s obvious that the Serpents have you in their crosshairs, we would like to station a squadron each of Cheetah aircyclists to be headed by Lieutenant Commander Welling, and Tiger foot soldiers to be led by Lieutenant Rosenbaum here at your facility. We’d like to add another Panther tank and his or her rider, as well. We can have housing built for them if space is a problem.”

“No ma’am, space isn’t a problem. And I’m grateful for the extra help. I’ve got a lot of staff and their families living here and it would be very reassuring to have the troops here to augment my security team.”

“That’s wonderful, dear. You can all work out the details later.” She then turned a stern eye back on Rosenbaum. “Now Lieutenant… seeing as how Commander Ackles will be your commanding officer starting immediately, I’d be more careful in the future, if I were you. That is, unless you’d prefer to be cleaning the privy for the entirety of your duration here?”

“No ma’am, I _really_ wouldn’t. My sincerest apologies Commander Ackles and Dr. Padalecki. And congratulations on your engagement.”

Jared quickly clapped a hand over his still irate fiancee’s mouth and smiled at the nervous officer. “No real harm done, Lieutenant. And thank you for your kind words. We’ll _all_ be working and living together out here, and it would be a real _shame_ to start off on a bad foot,” Jared finished, directing his last words at his soon-to-be husband.

Jensen grudgingly settled, then directed the two men to find Felicia so that she could escort them and their squads to where they could bunk down.

“What about us?” Chad asked.

Grand Matron Meryl was quick to answer. “Since we assume that your Commander would prefer to stay here and head up the protection of his fiancee…” She paused to shoot Jensen a questioning look, to which he nodded affirmatively. “A new leader of the Cat Guard will be needed for those aiding the fights at the border towns. Lieutenant Kane will be promoted to Lieutenant Commander and he will be Commander Ackles’ replacement, while you and your Panther tank, Lieutenant Murray, will stay here to continue Dr. Padalecki’s work.”

The Grand Matron then stood and walked over to the wall where pictures and schematics of Zero and Icarus were displayed. She touched a finger to the side-by-side comparison of Icarus’ former body and the one Jared made for him. The difference between the two was quite obvious. Icarus’ body going from bulky and angular to smooth and sleek, and looking definitively more cat-like.

“We were _very_ impressed with how much Icarus has improved, but the teaming up with the canine, that was a pleasant surprise that worked out marvelously. We want to see if it’s a fluke between just the two of them or if we can provide a canine partner for every Panther tank team.”

Turning from the display screen, she folded her hands demurely in front of her as she continued talking while looking at Chad. “Lieutenant Murray, your Panther Lucille will be getting the AI and body upgrade regardless. Then you and your tank will remain here for however long it takes for Dr. Padalecki to create a canine companion for Lucille and see if the bonding that Icarus and Zero have can be repeated.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Chad replied compliantly, the sudden promotion wiping all mischievousness from his demeanor.

Christian and Chad leave after also receiving instructions to find Felicia for accommodations.

“Now then… Jared and Jensen. May I call you by your first names?” She paused, then continued when Jared and Jensen nodded assent. “My sister matrons and I would love to hear more about your plans for the new and improved Panther Division you’ll be building for us…”

“Please ma’am, may I make a suggestion?” Jared asked, raising his hand as if he were still in school. He nudged Jensen’s thigh with his own when he heard him snort with amusement.

“When I was a child, my mother told me stories of these amazing dogs that were trained to work with law enforcement and rescue. The stories that really inspired me to build Zero in the first place were those about the K-dash-9 division. Or the K9 officers. These dogs helped to protect and augment the work of the officers they were partnered with. If I may, I’d like Zero and any other cyborg dogs I create for the Panther Division to be named the K-9 Squad.”

“I think that’s a marvelous idea! Now… we’ve got a couple of hours before the Mother Festival starts. My sister Matrons and I would like to rest and refresh before then, if someone would kindly show us to our sure to be lovely rooms in this beautiful facility.”

Twenty minutes later, Jared walked into his quarters then paused when he didn’t spy Jensen right away. Bonnie had reassured him that Jensen was there waiting for him.

“Jensen?”

“Over here,” came Jensen’s response, Jared barely hearing the muffled voice.

Following his voice as Jensen called out to him now and then, Jared finally reached the large kitchen. No Jensen.

“Jensen? Where the hell _are_ you?!”

Jared jumped then whirled around when the sliding doors to his large pantry slid open behind him, to reveal a nearly naked Jensen leaning against the door jamb. He was wearing Jared’s short black silk robe, untied and hanging open on his wide shoulders, a sinfully tight pair of black boxer briefs and nothing else. Behind him, piled high on the floor, was what must be every blanket, sheet, quilt, and pillow that Jared owned. The bright lights of the pantry had been turned off and resting on various open shelves were fat, white candles that gave the room a warm, golden glow and a softly sweet honeysuckle smell.

“Wha-?”

“I thought that since today is the Mother Festival, what better way to honor Her than to celebrate in a place similar to where we started? It doesn’t have the charm of steel walls, spare parts, and cardboard boxes like the lab’s storeroom, but at least here we have food and drinks so we don’t have to leave it for any reason other than the restroom, of course.”

“Why, Commander Ackles… you’re _such_ a romantic. Whatever happened to that cold fish of an officer I first met?”

Letting his face fall into the famous stone facade he was known for, Jensen came to an upright perfect stance, arms held stiffly at his sides. “Commander Ackles, at your service. It’s not safe out there, sir. I suggest you remove your clothes and get in my bunker ASAP.”

Smiling happily, Jared dropped his lab coat on the floor behind him, then walked slowly towards Jensen as he unbuttoned then pulled his dark red button-up shirt off. Dropping it to the floor as well, he then gave a little hop and jumped into Jensen’s arms, long legs wrapping around the soldier’s trim, muscled waist. “My hero! Will you keep me safe from the Serpents?”

“You’ll be safe from all but one serpent, fair citizen,” Jensen growled, voice deepening with lust, as he rolled his hips to indicate exactly which serpent he was talking about.

“And people think I’m the dork around here.”

“You’re _my_ dork.”

Jared squealed with laughter when Jensen grabbed his ass with both hands, then turned and dove for the pile of bedding.

“Bonnie, I _know_ my son is in there, why won’t you let us in?” Sherrie Padalecki ranted. “Zero wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t. I told Zero to bring us to Jared and he is _never_ wrong. Now, open this door, you’re embarrassing me!” Sherrie finished, looking over her shoulder at the immaculately uniformed blonde woman behind her. Zero was sitting at her feet, tail wagging lazily as he gazed up at Sherrie adoringly.

Colonel Donna Ackles smiled reassuringly at the brunette women, even as she bent over to pet the cyborg dog. “We can always just wait for them out in the courtyard, Sherrie dear. I just wanted to meet the man who stole my son’s heart before the ceremonies began, but there’s no real rush. The staff has put up the awnings now and I saw them start serving drinks before we headed in here.”

“Yes, maybe you’re right. Besides, if they’re serving wine already, I’d better find my husband now and stop him from overdoing it. Doctors told him to cut back on his alcohol intake, but I know my Gerry. He can never refuse a good red. Bonnie never disobeys me, I just can’t figure out why she won’t comply.”

Donna took Sherrie by the elbow and began leading her back down the hall. Zero stayed seated, watching them go.

“You’re not speaking right now, Bonnie, but don’t think I won’t have some choice words for you later!” Sherrie then turned to smile warmly at Donna just as they were turning the corner and stepping out of Zero’s sight.

Zero looked up at the vidscreen panel in the wall next to Jared’s door. Two brown eyes appeared and looked down at the cyber-dog. “I know! I had to scramble fast to find a protocol that would allow me to disobey her, but believe me… if I’d let their mothers in right now, Jared would melt my circuits down for scrap after Ackles got through smashing me to bits. My self-preservation directive took priority in this situation!”

Zero whined, then pawed at the door with one paw.

“No, you can’t go in either. You should go be with Icarus. I think Lieutenant-Commander Murray’s tank is getting a little too friendly with him right now.”

In the pantry, Jared and Jensen pull apart in alarm when the floor, the shelving, and the walls around them give a shudder at the same time that a loud crash could be heard from elsewhere in Jared’s quarters. Rushing out of the pantry in nothing but their underwear, the two come to a skidding stop at the entrance to Jared’s living room, staring in shock at Zero. The cyborg had grown to full size and was crammed tighter than a cork in the hall, his body having taken out the wall where Jared’s door used to be. Plaster and dust rained down when Zero turned his head to peer in at Jared with a sheepish expression. On the wall next to Jared, he could see Bonnie’s brown eyes staring at Zero with a wide and startled look.

“Bonnie? What the hell happened here?! Why did Zero transform indoors? He never has before!”

The eyes turned to look at Jared, their shape narrowing slightly as if wincing, then the eyes disappeared.

“BONNIE! Don’t you run away, get back here!”

Beside him, Jensen collapses against the other wall, clutching his stomach and laughing uproariously.

Jared dabbed a handkerchief at the sweat that had built up on his brow due to the hot lights trained on him, then pushed back the lock of gray hair that always seemed to fall no matter how much product he used. He looked out at the packed auditorium, shifting uneasily under the stares of the hundreds of Academy students, dignitaries, and press who were avidly watching him.

Looking to his left, Jared caught Jensen’s reassuring smile. Behind him, sitting curled up against each other were Zero and Icarus, Zero in full-size mode. Jared’s gaze took them in, then he turned his gaze back to Jensen and smiled at his husband of twenty years. Still dashing in his black Matriarchy uniform, the Rear Admiral star on his decorated jacket shone brightly under the hot lights.

His full head of silver hair enhancing the still captivating green of his eyes, Jensen’s head tilted slightly as his smile softened, eyes warming as they gazed lovingly at Jared. He gave Jared the thumbs-up sign and nodded encouragingly. At his feet, a long-legged canine-looking cyborg that moved with the fluidity of a cat gamboled and scampered around Jensen’s feet; tugging at the hem of his dress slacks, causing a few in the audience to chuckle and ‘aww’.

Jared smiled at the little borg as it effortlessly climbed Jensen’s legs until he was safely ensconced in Jensen’s arms. The normally stoic and stern-looking Admiral smiling affectionately down at it.

Jared regained his composure just looking at his family, because to Jared they _were_ his family. Jared turned back to the hundreds of eyes looking at him and continued the last of many presentations he’d given down through the years. It never got any easier to stand up in the spotlight like this but Jared did it out of love. 

Love for his work and his creations but most especially for the love of the man who’d dedicated his entire life to protecting him and their people. 

At 48, Jared was retiring from the speaking circuit so that he and Jensen, who was already retired, could spend the rest of their years together, with no pressing outside obligations to pull them away from each other, ever again.

A scientist’s brain never really retires unless health or circumstances change it, but stepping down to let Osric and Felicia run PadaTech would allow him to also spend more time doing what he loved the most, other than Jensen, that is - inventing, creating, and advancing his knowledge.

Doing the presentations and seminars four to five times a year had been his way of paying it forward to the generations to come. But, at Jensen’s urging, Jared agreed that it was time to pass on the duty. He was still a very active man but even he had to admit that traveling so much was getting harder and harder as he got older. Since this was his last public appearance, however, Jared wanted to make sure it would be a memorable one.

He hadn’t shared every single detail of how he and Jensen met, fell in love, then created the military force that eventually turned the tide in mankind’s favor, but he’d still shared more than he ever had in the past twenty years that he’d been speaking in public. And now his time on stage was nearing its end.

“And so, ladies and gentlemen, that is basically how the War of the Serpents was eventually won. With the intel obtained from that first captive Anaconda and the improvements made to all branches of the military with the use of Ultra Vibranium and PadaTech in conjunction with Chau Industries, we weren’t only able to repel the enemy from Mega City’s borders, but to also beat them back and to take back lands that had been lost to us for over a century.”

Jared removed the microphone from its holder and walked with it up to the front of the immense stage, clipping the device to the lapel of the navy blue jacket he’d bought the week before, well aware of the myriad of cameras focused on him.

“But I’d like to say here and now that _none_ of it would’ve been possible without the brave men and women from the Cat Guard… land, sea and sky… who put their trust in Jensen, Osric, and I to take a chance on what was once considered a risky and dubious venture. To those men and women and the cyborgs who were destroyed trying to protect them. May we never forget their sacrifice.”

After a couple of seconds of respectful silence, Jared opened the floor for the last part of the presentation. “I’ll take some questions now.”

A man in a tan jacket sitting in the front row shot to his feet, one arm raised in the air.

Jared pointed at him.

“Dr. Padalecki-Ackles, Derek Garman for _Tech Today_.”

“Please, just call me Jared. What’s your question, Mr. Garman.”

“Doctor Jared…” the man said, making Jared smile in amusement. “I have a question about the UV grade metal you used for Zero and Icarus. At that point in time, everyone who worked with UV had all found it to be a very workable metal, its light weight and near indestructibility paramount, to be sure, but you claimed in an interview once that you found elements to it that enhanced Zero and Icarus beyond yours or any others expectations.”

“Yes, I did.”

“I’m guessing Zero being able to change size isn’t the only enhancement you were referring to, am I right to assume there is more to him and possibly even Icarus the tank, that you haven’t released to the public and if so, could you share it with us now?”

Jared glanced at Jensen, seeking reassurance.

Jensen smiled grimly then nodded as if giving Jared permission to answer the question.

“Well, Mr. Garman. Up ‘til now, that information had been deemed ‘Top Secret’ by the Matriarchy.”

The journalist had by then sat down in his chair, but at Jared’s words he sat forward in his chair, face lax in shock for a split second and then lighting up with anticipation.

A couple of months after that first battle Icarus and Zero fought at the main PadaTech facility, my husband traveled with me to the Matriarchal Headquarters in Mega City. There, I shared with them the research and theories I’d garnered from my early experimentations with Vibranium and Ultra Vibranium. We then asked to question the Anaconda prisoner, who by then was more than willing to give up information, due in large part to the Matriarchy’s interrogation experts. During questioning, my theories were confirmed and we learned a lot more about V and UV than we ever thought possible.”

“And this theory is the reason why you were able to do so much more with UV than any other before you at the time?” the journalist asked, almost impatiently.

“Yes.”

“Please, Doctor Pada.. er, Jared. What were your findings about the metal?”

After a long pause to gather his wits, Jared spoke.

“That it wasn’t a metal, at all. In actuality, V and UV is an alien species. Just as alien to our world as the Serpents are.”

A swell of sound rolled through the audience.

“Wait, wait, _what_?! What do you mean?” the journalist shouted over the dull roar of the audience.

Jared held out his hands to try and calm the crowd. But it wasn’t until Icarus gave a loud, snarling roar that people took heed and quieted down.

“But how did _you_ know it was more than just a metal, Doctor?” the journalist called out.

“Honestly? By pure luck. I was sitting at my station in my lab holding a piece of UV in my hand, idly thinking about what a shame it was that it only came in two colors. The flat gray of V and the dull black of UV. I said out loud, _‘This would be quite beautiful if it were a cobalt blue color...’_ and then right before my eyes it changed to cobalt blue. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, so I added ‘with polka dots’ and the dots appeared.”

Again, a swell of voices rose. This time the crowd quieted down quickly when Jared began to speak again.

“Experimenting further I found that when the metal was made to integrate with AI technology that it was much more malleable. I could shape it into whatever I wanted just by programming it into the AI brain I attached it to. When I used it on Zero, the body automatically formed into the dog shape and color that I had programmed into Zero.”

The journalist and many others raised their hands, but Jared held a hand out to them. “Let me finish,” he said with a warm smile.

“I know what you’re gonna ask next. No, the vibranium was not brought here by the Serpents, at least, not on purpose. In fact, they are enemies of the Serpents. The Anaconda revealed that before our planet, they had invaded and taken over another planet in another galaxy inhabited by creatures similar to human but much lower on the evolution scale. Sadly, they wiped out this race thinking they were all that was standing in their way of raping that world of all its resources. In those resources they thought to use for their own purposes were metric tons of V and UV. The Serpents never planned to stay here. Their plan for us was the same they had for the V world and many others before it. Wipe out all opposition and take anything they deemed valuable to them.”

Turning to take a sip from the glass of water Jensen had walked over to him, Jared thanked his husband then continued his speech.

“Vibranium in either form have a limited view of their surroundings. All they knew was that the Serpents eradicated the creatures they’d lived and worked with for who knows how long and they knew that was wrong. Their viewpoint is very black and white and they don’t understand complex issues. That is, until they are integrated with AI tech. On the Serpents’ ship, all they knew was that Serpents were bad, and so they did all they could to sabotage them, which they succeeded in doing, forcing the Serpent ship to make an emergency landing here. But not before the Serpents managed to jettison the storage compartments that the bulk of the V and UV were kept in. The V’s then formed into a massive, dense facsimile of the Serpent ship to get through the ravages of entry into our atmosphere.”

Jared paused to let that sink in. He knew for some it would be hard for them to accept that material that looks basically inert could rationalize and react to consciously preserve itself.

“A good portion of V were burned off and destroyed but the remainder that crash-landed in the mountains near Mega City survived, acclimated and then thrived in our soil. You see, there can _be_ no UV _without_ V. The difference between their coloring only indicates their gender. Not exactly male-female, but similar. We only know that one can’t ‘reproduce’ without the other. My husband likes to call them the yin and the yang.” Jared laughed, looking over at Jensen who only grinned unrepentantly. When he looked back at the audience, a bevy of hands shot into the air, twice as many as before hoping he’d call on them.

“Please, I’m sorry to be taking up so much of your time, Doctor Jared. But I just have one more question!” Garman called out, others around him shooting him irate glares.

“Go ahead, Mr. Garman, but please make it quick. I only have about fifteen more minutes to answer questions.”

“My sources say that the initial attempts at making K-9 partners for the rest of the Black Pack, the Panther-Hound teams, were a failure. That you were unable to recreate hounds that would bond with the tanks they were assigned to, like Zero and Icarus. What I would like to know is how you solved the problem, seeing as how many have tried to replicate what you had done and failed.”

Jared gave a soft laugh then looked up at the crowd with a whimsical smile. “That is also a long-held secret that I’m now able to share. The key was Icarus and Zero. As you probably know, Zero is almost completely made of UV, but Icarus, because he had a compartment to carry Jensen, his armament and the controls for all that, his core frame couldn’t be made to change shape for fear of damage to both the equipment and to Jensen. So Icarus’ frame is made up of V while only his outer shell and extremities are made of UV.”

The journalist nodded in understanding.

“Remember when I said there can be no UV without V?”

Garman nodded again.

“Well, in the month or so after they’d received and acclimated to their new bodies, Zero and Icarus acquired a bond between the two of them. This bond manifested in them reenacting the process of intercourse with each other.”

Garman and quite a few others in the audience gasped in shock.

“You see, I had programmed terabytes of info about the animals they were fashioned after into Icarus and Zero. When their bond grew, it became natural for them to want to emulate procreation. But with V and UV present inside of Icarus, an unforeseen, yet amazing result happened.”

Jared then walked across the stage and took the little cyborg from Jensen. The baby borg yowling eagerly as it happily transferred to Jared’s arms. Jared went back to his position. 

“This is Sixteen. He is a week old. And in the simplest of terms… he is Icarus and Zero’s cub. Icarus birthed him.”

The audience exploded. The reporters and journalists were talking frantically into their wrist comms, camera flashes were igniting the place, momentarily blinding Jared and causing Sixteen to howl in fear even as he tried to climb up onto Jared’s head. Jensen ran over to try and help Jared but it was Zero that shocked everyone into silence when he barked and howled thunderously.

Leaving Icarus to lash his tail agitatedly, Zero padded over to Jared and deftly picked up his son by the nape of his neck. The little cyborg going limp in his father’s hold. Bringing him over to Icarus just as the hatch to Icarus’ inner cabin popped open. Icarus took his newest son and deposited him inside the cabin then closed the hatch again.

Regaining his composure, Jared patted at his hair trying to fix the mess Sixteen had made of it.

“As you just saw, they’re very protective of their offspring.”

“But how is this possible?!” A young, blonde woman in a red jacket and skirt ensemble exclaimed. “Not only is it a machine, it’s a - it’s a boy cat!”

Older academics in the audience chuckled at her comment, even Garman from Tech Today. The woman turned redder than her outfit and sat back down.

“Don’t be embarrassed, dear,” Jared said to her, smiling warmly at her. “It’s not common but there have been documented cases in almost every species, including humans, of males that were able to reproduce and birth young. In this case, it was because of the V and UV in Icarus responding to the mating urges of Icarus and Zero. But male pregnancy, or mpreg, _is_ rare enough, that it’s not surprising that you haven’t heard of it, or thought it impossible.”

The woman smiled gratefully at Jared for not mocking her then turned to the older woman in gray at her side. The two began talking excitedly, a man in the row behind them leaning forward to join in the conversation.

“Believe me, ladies and gentlemen,” Jared continued speaking. “It was a great shock to us at first, too! Icarus had been acting irritable and easy to anger for a month before. Then he and Zero alarmed everyone when they jumped the fence and took off into the woods together.”

Everyone in the large room stopped talking and returned their attention to Jared, thoroughly entranced.

“I was able to track them but when we went to bring them back, Icarus had built a den in a cave and Zero was preventing everyone but me and Jensen to enter. After One was born, Icarus and Zero returned with her to the Facility. For a week, Icarus barely let her out of his cabin. Jensen often ran training with One sleeping in his lap as he worked.”

Using the mic he’d been given at the start of the presentation, but hadn’t bothered using until now, Jensen laughed and shook his head. “It’s not easy trying to run battle simulations with a baby borg sitting on your shoulders and chewing on your ear, let me tell you.”

The audience laughed.

The woman in red raised her hand and Jared nodded at her.

“Hi Doctor. Thank you for earlier. I’m Nina Lykova from _Home and Lifestyle_. I didn’t understand why I was assigned to cover your presentation and honestly have no mind for science. But I am having a wonderful time and can say I am genuinely intrigued with science now. For our readers, however, may I ask you and Admiral Jensen a question that might be a little on the personal side?”

“Go ahead, Nina. We won’t know if we’ll answer until we hear it.”

“It has been long debated as to why you and the Admiral, both very handsome men then and now….”

Jensen pretended to preen, while Jared just rolled his eyes.

“...Why have you and your husband never applied for surrogacy to have children of your own? Am I right to assume that it’s because Zero, Icarus, and their, um, offspring were like your children, too and that’s why you’ve never hired a surrogate?”

“You assume correctly. Jensen and I never saw ourselves as parents. For one, we were both openly gay and yes, taking care of our borgs and their babies have been a handful and fulfilled whatever urges we may have had to have children of our own.”

“But don’t you want to leave this world with a little piece, even if just one, of you and Jensen?” The woman so earnestly interested, she didn’t even realize she’d failed to address Jensen properly.

“But we _have_ left little pieces of ourselves. I put my heart and soul into making Zero, and Jensen did the same with Icarus when they were paired up as partners and fought and survived so many encounters together. Their progeny all have the ability to reproduce, too, it’s how we were able to outfit more than just the Panther-Hound teams, or Black Packs. We were also able to supply invaluable partners for the other factions. The Cheetah Air-cycles’ cyborg Hawks and the Tiger ground troops with their cyborg Bears. Not all couplings produce offspring, but enough do so that long after Jared and I are gone, pieces of us will be living on.”

As applause filled the air, Jared looked over at Jensen, and as always, in their twenty years of marriage, he sees a boundless love and admiration in the clear, beautiful green depths of Jensen’s eyes. 

Excited by all the applause and shouts of praise, Zero shrunk back into his base form and scampered over to Jared, leaping the last three feet until he was in Jared’s arms. Jared turned to face the cameras with Zero sitting proudly in his arms. 

Down the years many had questioned Jared about why he’d named Zero as he did, and his favorite answer was that he liked the ghost dog in the classic animated film, _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ , and had named Zero in honor of it.

But now as Jared looks over the crowd then down at the cyborg dog in his arms, one flesh and one not, he thinks maybe he knew, somehow, that Zero would end up giving him so much more than what was put into him.

Some define the term ‘zero’ as a word that basically means ‘nothing’. So, in a way, because of this loyal and loving borg, Jared was able to fulfill another scientific breakthrough.

With the creation of Zero, Jared made something out of nothing.

**==THE END==**

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Comments are fuel. Let's keep this fic engine running! 
> 
> For updates and news on any of my fics, follow me on **[Twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/JessieCristo73)**


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